It is common practice for motorists to park their vehicles in large parking facilities. Motorists do this many times at shopping malls, entertainment event parking facilities, airports and on city streets. It is important that motorists remember the location of their vehicles. However, many times motorists are concerned and preoccupied with remembering information relating to the tasks at hand and for which they traveled; hence, they do not pay attention or remember the location of their vehicles. This is especially true if the motorist is not completely familiar with the description of the vehicle which they are driving, for example, when driving a friend's vehicle or a rented vehicle.
There are many situations where motorists quickly park their vehicles, and when returning, they do not remember the vehicle's location. A classic example occurs when returning from a business trip or vacation, wherein the motorist attempts, after a few days, a week, a month or even longer, to locate their vehicle in a large parking facility. Many times, the motorist's memory does not recall the exact or even approximate location of their vehicle. Also, this memory lapse often occurs before or during attendance at an entertainment event. A further example occurs when motorists park their vehicles in a long row of vehicles along a street and upon returning from a store cannot remember where or in which direction their vehicle is located. Overall, there are many incidents happening daily in which motorists cannot remember the exact location of their vehicles even though their vehicles are within eyesight. Thus, there is a need for a vehicle identifying device to assist in locating vehicles.
In addition to the need for a vehicle identifying device, there is a need for such an identification device which can distinguish one vehicle from another. The difficulty of differentiating one vehicle from another can be accentuated when the motorist is not familiar with the vehicle or when there is more than one vehicle identification device being used on different vehicles. For example, when locating a friend's vehicle or a rental vehicle in a parking facility, there could be multiple vehicles with similar identification devices. If the vehicle identification device has a unique identifying feature, the vehicle could be easily distinguished from the other vehicles having differing identifying features. Therefore, the vehicle identification device requires a distinctive feature to distinguish it from similar looking devices.
In order for a vehicle identifying device to be practical, it should be inexpensive to manufacture and easy and safe for motorists to use and should have minimal vehicle damage potential. More specifically, the identification device should be durable, lightweight and portable. While the identification device should be large enough to be visible from a reasonable distance, it must be compact so as to fit conveniently in a storage compartment, such as a glove box. Further, the identification device should be easy to attach and to remove from the vehicle without damaging the vehicle. Moreover, the identification device should not cause damage to the vehicle while the vehicle is in operation. Consequently, since a motorist may leave the identification device attached to the vehicle, the identification device should be designed in such a manner that it will not cause any harm to the vehicle during operation. Thus, these many design, safety and use features are requisite in an acceptable vehicle identifying device.